2009

Artistic Rain Barrel Program

The 2009 Artistic Rain Barrel program and display period concluded on April, 18, 2009.

The Friends of Pioneers Park Nature Center and the City of Lincoln Watershed Management Division joined forces for an Artistic Rain Barrel program.

This year, we invited artists to creatively paint rain barrels, as part of a fun way to educate the community on the benefits of using rain barrels to improve water quality. Potential artists were required to submit a short summary of their intended design for a rain barrel. The Friends of Pioneers Park chose artists based on these descriptions. Teachers who applied for their class were required to submit a short description of how they would use the rain barrel as a teaching tool in their classroom for consideration. In total, 25 artists and teachers were selected for this year's program.

After the close of the application period on January 30, 2009, a total of 70 applications were received. Unfortunately, we could only select 25 artists.

The selected artists had four weeks to paint and return their barrels. The barrels were on display around Lincoln from March 6, 2009 - April 18 2009 at local businesses and libraries, spending the last week at the Nature Center.

On April 18, 2009 the 25 Artistic Rain Barrels were auctioned off at the Pioneers Park Nature Market. From 9:30-11:00 a.m. Guests at the market competitively bid on the barrels, raising a total of $5,330 for the Friends of Pioneers Park Nature Center, who will use the fund to provide children with scholarships to Adventure and Extreme Nature Camp. The average bid was around $215 per barrel. In other words, the Artistic Rain Barrel Program was a huge success!